Sweden

Sweden (Swedish: Sverige) is a Nordic country in the part of Europe called Scandinavia. Its neighbors are Finland and Norway. It is a developed country. It is famous for its welfare state. People who live in Sweden are called Swedes. The population of Sweden is about 10 million people. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also Sweden's largest city, with almost one million people. Other large cities are Gothenburg and Malmö. These cities are all in the southern half of the country, where it is not as cold as in the north. Swedes drink filmjölk, it is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden. It is made by fermenting cow's milk. Glögg, is spiced mulled wine which people drink around Christmas. It normally contains red wine, sugar, orange peel, and spices. Swedes eat yellow pea soup with pork (or pork sausages) along with mustard. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy because it has a king, Carl XVI Gustaf, but he does not have any real power. Sweden is a parliamentary state meaning that the government is elected by the parliament which is appointed by the people. The country is democratically ruled by a government headed by an elected prime minister. Ulf Kristersson was elected Prime Minister in September 2022. He took office in October 2022. Sweden has an official majority language, Swedish (the Swedish word for the language is svenska). Sweden has five official minority languages: Finnish, Yiddish, Sami, Meänkieli, and Romani. Sweden became a member of the European Union (EU) on 1 January 1995 and NATO on 7 March 2024. Unlike most countries in the European Union, Sweden is not a member of the Eurozone and has not begun to use the euro as currency. This is because the people have voted against using the euro. The currency remains the Swedish krona (Swedish crown). History Sweden has been a kingdom for a thousand years. In the 15th century, during the Kalmar Union, Sweden had the same king as Denmark and Norway. In the early 16th century Sweden got a new king, Gustav Vasa. During the 17th century Sweden was a great power. Sweden had taken Estonia, Latvia, and Finland and parts of Norway, Germany, and Russia. In the 18th century Sweden became weaker and lost these places. In the early 19th century, Sweden's king died without an heir and the Swedish parliament voted for Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as the new king. Bernadotte fought Denmark and made them allow Norway to enter a personal union with Sweden. This was Sweden's last war, and Sweden has not been at war for 200 years. In 1905, the Swedish-Norwegian personal union was dissolved. In many wars, including World War I and the Cold War, the country did not take sides. During World War II, it traded with both the British and the Germans in order to protect its neutrality. Region Sweden has 25 historical provinces (landskap). They are found in three different regions: Norrland in the North, Svealand in the central region, and Götaland in the South. Counties Sweden is divided into 21 counties. They are Stockholm, Uppsala, Södermanland, Östergötland, Jönköping, Kronoberg, Kalmar, Gotland, Blekinge, Skåne, Halland, Västra Götaland, Värmland, Örebro, Västmanland, Dalarna, Gävleborg, Västernorrland, Jämtland, Västerbotten, and Norrbotten. County governments largely regulate regional public transportation and healthcare. Municipalities Sweden is further divided into 290 municipalities. The municipalities are responsible for many social issues, like schools, daycare centers, the care for older and disabled people and fire departments. Religion Sweden has been Christian for a thousand years. Sweden is traditionally a Protestant country, but it is now one of the least religious countries in the world. Statistical surveys say 46-85% of all people in Sweden are agnostics or atheists. This means that they doubt or they do not believe in the existence of a god. About 6.4 million people in Sweden, which is 67% of all the people, are members of the Church of Sweden, but only 2% of members go to church often. Music In popular music, ABBA, Roxette, The Cardigans, Europe, Entombed, At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, Grave, Dissection, Avicii, Tove Lo, Laleh, Watain, and Ace of Base have had several hits throughout the years. Sports Sweden is a country with many talented athletes, such as soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović. Sweden (men and women's teams combined) has five bronze medals and two silver medals from the World Cup in football (soccer). The soccer league in Sweden is called Allsvenskan (men's) and Damallsvenskan (women's). Sweden has also performed well in ice hockey. The men's ice hockey top division in Sweden is called SHL and the women's SDHL. Sweden has also had several successful table tennis players, including Stellan Bengtsson and Jan-Ove Waldner, as well as alpine skiers including Ingemar Stenmark, Pernilla Wiberg, and Anja Pärson. Other champions include biathlete Magdalena Forsberg and tennis players Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, and Jonas Björkman. Swimmer Sara Sjöström has several gold, silver and bronze medals from the Olympic Games and holds several world records. Sweden also succeeds in cross-country skiing, having won several medals in the Olympic Games. Video-Games The most famous Swedish game is Minecraft, an open-world phenomenon originally created by individual developer Markus Persson before his studio, Mojang Studios, grew into an industry giant. The country is also home to Arrowhead Game Studios, the creative minds behind the massive cooperative shooter Helldivers 2, and EA DICE, a long-running Stockholm studio that built the blockbuster Battlefield franchise. For cooperative adventures, film director turned game designer Josef Fares founded Hazelight Studios in the capital to create the critically acclaimed It Takes Two. Additionally, the nation excels in smaller-scale cult hits, such as the brutal action game Hotline Miami by Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin (Dennaton Games), and the popular survival game Valheim. Gallery References Other websites Media related to Sweden at Wikimedia Commons Sweden travel guide from Wikivoyage